Immersion Week 1: Day 3 in Leuven

Monday morning in Leuven was once again a leisurely one, as the students enjoyed a nice hotel breakfast before meeting up in front of the KU Leuven Library for a tour of the city. The weather was sunny with a slight chill as the students strolled down Leuven's cobblestone streets for a couple of hours. After a brief presentation on the Europe America Fund, the students went off for lunch in Leuven. Around 2pm, the students gathered again at the KU Leuven Library, this time for a self-guided tour of the imposing and stately facility. In addition to learning the building's fascinating history--it was burned down and rebuilt twice during the twentieth century, and received generous funds from former US president Herbert Hoover and numerous American universities and colleges to rebuild it the first time--the students took the long, spiraling walk up the stairwell to the top of the library's belltower. Described by Professor Kolja Raube as "the best view" of Leuven, the bird's eye view achieved on the outdoor balcony at the top was quite astounding. Even more astounding and slightly shocking were the reverberations felt by those few students that found themselves still at the top at 3pm when the bells rang out to signal the hour. 

In lieu of the usual class that takes place on Monday evenings in Leuven, the students gathered together in the classroom for a special panel presentation, "Transatlantic Relations and European Responses to the Ukraine Conflict: Dealing with Immediate and Long-term Crises in Times of Global Contestation." For the duration of the scheduled class period, the students heard insights and opinions from experts on transatlantic relations: 

• H.E. Ambassador Willem van de Voorde, Permanent Representative of Belgium to the European Union
• Ambassador Dirk Wouters, former Ambassador of Belgium to the United States of America,  Co-Chair America Europe Fund, KU Leuven
• Ms. Ruth Bajada, Head of the United States and Canada, European External Action Service
• Dr. Gerrard Quille, Head of Unit, Secretariat Sub-Committee on Security and Defence, European Parliament
• Prof. dr. Garret Martin, School of International Service, Co-Director Transatlantic Policy Center, American University
• Prof. dr. Tom Casier, Director of the Global Europe Center, the University of Kent at Canterbury 
• Prof. dr. Karolina Pomorska, Jean Monnet Chair, Institute of Political Science, Leiden University

Following the panel, the students from both AU and KU Leuven enjoyed drinks and snacks at an informal reception, taking the opportunity to chat with those panelists who attended in person and get to know their counterparts from across the Atlantic.